Saudi Arabia announced new emergency stimulus measures Friday that took its support for the economy to more than $32 billion as it battles the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and lower oil prices.
The Saudi central bank said last week it had prepared a 50-billion riyal ($13.32 billion) package to help banks and small and medium-sized enterprises cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus.
Under the package announced by Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan Friday, 70 billion riyals will be set aside to help businesses, with measures such as exemptions and postponements of some government fees and taxes.
Business owners will be allowed to postpone value-added tax (VAT), excise tax, and income tax payments for a period of three months, the minister said in a statement.
Expat fees, which the government charges for hiring expatriates and obtaining visas for their dependents, will also be cancelled for a three-month period.
Saudi Arabia, an oil exporter, announced this week a nearly 5% cut in the state's 2020 budget amounting to 50 billion riyals and said expenditures would be reassessed as low oil prices and the coronavirus outbreak threaten growth.
Jadaan said the government had the ability to use different sources of financing such as public debt and government reserves "to adequately tackle the emerging challenges."
"This allows positive intervention in the economy in the right way and at the right time, while limiting the impact on the government's goals in maintaining fiscal sustainability and economic development in the medium and long term," he said in the statement.
Riyadh, which has been running a deficit since oil prices plunged in 2014, had announced a 1.02-trillion riyal budget for 2020 which analysts said was based on an assumption of roughly $60 a barrel. Oil prices Friday were below $30 per barrel.
Reuters
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